Good night.

Boards of Canada - In a Beautiful Place out in the Country

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head, a band based out of Seattle, was formed originally by Luke Smith and Shaun Libman as a ploy just to get chicks. Now NPSH is five members strong and is quite the popular indie-alt-pop group. The band has toured w/ some heavy hitters, including Lily Allen, CSS and The GO! Team. The band got its name from actress Natalie Portman's hair-do (or lack thereof) in the 2005 fantasy-thriller, "V for Vendetta." The group says Natalie is okay w/ the band's name. In honor of the actress, they always put her name on their guest list at every show. Sadly, Portman has yet to attend a single NPSH gig.

On the 4th and 9th of June they'll be doing a two gig mini-residency at the Ottobar.

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head - Beard Lust

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head - Iceage Babeland

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head - Slow Motion Tag Team

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head - Sophisticated Side Ponytail

Here at SD we're starting some super-fun new features for your amusement. We've been posting SD Local Dander almost everyday as an exploration into Baltimore's local music scene and will continue to do so. But now we're adding some new features, including a series for sleepy-time, chill-out music called SD Sleepy-time. We'll post that series on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

I'd now like to introduce you to the first installment of another of our new features, a new series called SD Covers that we'll post every Monday and Wednesday. Here we'll feature covers of songs that we like by bands we like. So, without further ado, here's Harlem w/ its cover of Q Lazzarus's "Goodbye Horses."

Harlem - Goodbye Horses (Q Lazzarus Cover)

This is kind of a weird one folks so bear w/ me. I would coin this music as soft-death-rock. El-Creepo! let me know if I'm out of line here, but "...skin you like an orange peal sunrise"? I dunno, I think I like it.
From: Baltimore, MD
Genre: Experimental, Soft-death-rock

El-Creepo! - Orange Peel Sunrise

El-Creepo! - Lazy Tiger

Kristin Putchinski (Ellen Cherry) is a super-talented, Baltimore-based, indie singer-songwriter. Have a listen!
From: Parkville, MD
Genre: Pop, Indie, Folk

Ellen Cherry - Giddy Up!

Ellen Cherry - 1933 to California

Sick Sick Birds - Marathon Monk - (Baltimore, MD)

Ponytail, a Baltimore based experimental band, was formed in 2005 by Jeremy Sigler as a class project and has grown vastly in popularity. Prestigious awards include, but are not limited to, Citypaper's coveted "Best Band" 2008 recognition. Ponytail is currently on tour but will touch back in Baltimore for a show at the Ottobar on March 25th!
From: Baltimore, MD
Genre: Experimental, Pop

Ponytail - Beg Waves

Ponytail - Jammin on a Major Scale

Karmella's Game - A Test - (Baltimore, MD)